Members of Parliament (MPs) in Malawi are some of the most expensive lot to deal with. Whenever institutions have a meeting that involves MPs, one headache is about the huge budgets to be paid and large sums of money to be spent on allowances to the Honourable Members. Parastatals are caught in this murky business. A meeting of less than half a day between MPs and state-owned enterprises sees millions of kwacha spent on allowances for the legislators.
The quandary is that parliamentarians should also be granted their reasonable wish for transport provision because we cannot expect the honorable members to walk on foot from their constituencies to some far located venues where meetings with parastatals take place. It is also reasonably expected that MPs should be fed when on duty because just like any other human being, parliamentarians too are entitled to their right to food.
The context within which the basic needs for MPs must be met has to do with the functions and roles of parliament. First, MPs are expected to deliver legislative functions. This involves making laws through debating and passing bills. The second function of parliament and MPs is representation. This is where MPs have to represent the wishes of their constituents in all aspects of deliberations in Parliament.
Third, parliamentarians play oversight functions. In this respect, MPs monitor operations of all institutions in the Executive branch of government. The oversight function is an important mechanism for implementing checks and balances. Oversight role is crucial to democratic governance where excesses of power in public institutions are put under check.
Statutory corporations are among public entities that constantly come under parliamentary scrutiny. There is also a whole range of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) whose operations need to be checked in order to protect and promote public interest. It is, therefore, argued that SOEs should not be left to their own devices for fear that they may prioritise private interests at the expense of public interests. Parastatals may also be prone to capture by different elements including capital.
Politics also often seeks to capture statutory corporations using different means which include appointment of politically impartial individuals into boards and Executive positions. Statutory corporations have become the playfield for politics of patronage where individuals are rewarded with positions and contracts. Politicians use parastatals as avenues for raising funds for political campaign. These are institutions that are increasingly being turned into conduits for corruption in all its different forms.
Sadly, a good number of parastatals are loss making as they are no longer economically viable. The story of Admarc is a sad tale just as is the case of Malawi Posts Corporation. The performance of Blantyre Water Board too is far from impressive. This is also true for Malawi Housing Corporation and the ever-depressing Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi. The list could go on and long.
Critically, the majority of these loss-making entities are suffering worst forms of political interference while the parastatals have become cash cows that are being milked thin by unpatriotic and greedy criminal enterprises that include MPs.
The conundrum facing these parastatals is that while MPs have the duty to save the entities from eternal collapse, parliamentarians have joined the bandwagon that is demanding hefty allowances in return for playing oversight roles on these struggling statutory corporations. What is different is that the accommodation, meal and travel allowances demanded by MPs tend to be on the highest side such that a loss-making parastatal could hardly afford.
The dilemma is that MPs have the duty to demand accountability from these statutory corporations. What will possibly happen to the oversight function if parastatals stop footing the expenses of MPs?
